A Manhattan woman was found strangled in an Upper West Side SRO yesterday with her hands bound and a sweater wrapped around her neck, police sources said.

The woman, in her 40s, identified as Linda Ford, was discovered in her apartment at the Malibu Hotel at 2688 Broadway shortly before 10 a.m. by a maintenance man, cops said.

The TV was blaring and her hands were tied – and she was apparently strangled by the sweater, sources said.

“The janitor came and opened the door,” said Robert McMillan, 36, who lives across the hall. “They check rooms every so often here. I heard the janitor say, ‘Oh, s- – -,’ so I stormed in and I saw her laying in bed in the fetal position. It looked like she didn’t have any pants on.”

They closed the door and called cops.

Neighbors said Ford has lived in the building for two months, paying rent by the night, and she wanted to get a lease. Tenants have a right to demand a lease if they live in the same apartment for more than 28 days.

One resident, who asked not to be identified, said he saw Ford and another resident arguing with the building’s landlord in the lobby recently over their chances of getting a lease.

“The landlord flipped out,” the tenant said. “He said ‘No, I’m not going to give you a lease.’ The landlord was very abusive.”